Budget Vegetable and Bean Soup
Hearty, cheap vegetable soup with tinned beans for bulk — ready in under an hour and brilliant for leftovers.
Cheap, cheerful and filling — this vegetable and bean soup makes a proper bowl of comfort without costing the earth. It uses storecupboard staples and one tin of beans to bulk up the veg so you get a satisfying meal that stretches to leftovers.
Make it on a weeknight when time and pennies are tight; it freezes and reheats brilliantly, and the brief blitz gives body without losing the comforting chunky texture.
Ingredients
- 30 ml olive oil
- 1 brown onion — finely chopped
- 200 g carrots — peeled and sliced
- 400 g potatoes — peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
- 100 g celery — sliced (about 2 sticks)
- 2 garlic cloves — crushed
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 l vegetable stock — hot (made from stock cubes or paste)
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 ml dried mixed herbs
- 400 g tinned cannellini beans — drained and rinsed
- 150 g frozen peas
- 10 g fresh parsley — roughly chopped
- salt — to taste
- black pepper — freshly ground, to taste
Equipment
- hand blender (or blender)
- large saucepan or stockpot
- colander
Instructions
Prep the vegetables: finely chop the brown onion, peel and slice the carrots, peel and chop the potatoes into 2cm chunks, slice the celery and crush the garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat on the hob. Add the brown onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 6 minutes.
Add the crushed garlic and dried mixed herbs and cook for 1 minute to release the aromas.
Add the potatoes, carrots, tinned chopped tomatoes, the hot vegetable stock and the bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat and simmer gently until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Stir in the drained tinned cannellini beans and frozen peas and simmer for a further 5 minutes until heated through.
Remove and discard the bay leaf. Use a hand blender to pulse the soup briefly — leave it slightly chunky for texture (about 20–40 seconds).
Season with salt and black pepper to taste, stir in the chopped fresh parsley and serve hot.
Tips
- Use potatoes to thicken the soup naturally — mash a few pieces against the side of the pan if you want it even thicker without blending.
- If you don't have a hand blender, transfer a third of the soup to a regular blender, blitz and return — do it in batches and vent the lid slightly.
- Taste for salt only at the end; vegetable stock can be salty and will concentrate as the soup simmers.
- Make-ahead: cool quickly, refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze in portions for up to 3 months.
- Stretch further: serve with buttered bread or a slice of toast for an extra cheap meal (not included in ingredient list).
Substitutions
tinned cannellini beans → tinned lentils, drained (same weight)
Stays closetinned chopped tomatoes → fresh tomatoes, roughly 500 g, peeled and chopped
Noticeably differentpotatoes → sweet potato, same weight (400 g)
Noticeably differentolive oil → vegetable oil, 30 ml
Stays close
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 305
- Calories
- 10 g
- Protein
- 47 g
- Carbs
- 9 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
- Sugar
- 650 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make this entirely on the hob without a hand blender?
Yes — scoop out a third of the cooked soup, mash it in a bowl with a potato masher or fork, then return to the pan to thicken. Alternatively use a regular blender in small batches.
How do I reduce the saltiness if it's too salty?
Add a peeled, raw potato chunk and simmer 10–15 minutes to absorb some salt, or add extra water and adjust seasoning. Adding a splash of lemon or a teaspoon of sugar can also balance the flavour.
Can I use different vegetables?
Absolutely. Cabbage, parsnip or swede work well — adjust cooking time until all veg are tender. Avoid adding quick-cooking greens until the end.
Will this freeze well?
Yes. Cool quickly, portion and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently on the hob.
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